Social media giveaways are a great way to promote your business. With the average adult in the United States spending more than two hours a day scrolling through social media, a well-run giveaway will help build brand awareness and grow your online following.
However, running a successful giveaway isn’t as simple as posting on your social platform of choice. It’s important to consider your audience and business strategy, follow applicable laws, and plan out logistics in advance.
To make a success of your social media giveaway, consider your reasons for hosting it. Ask yourself, what’s my goal? Do I want to increase followers, generate leads, or increase brand awareness? If your goal is to increase followers, ask entrants to like or follow your page. If your goal is to generate leads, direct people to a landing page where they can give you contact information to enter.
Know your audience, and think about your potential customer. What’s their age, gender, and preferred social media network? Where do they live? What would they be willing to do to enter a contest or giveaway? The answers to these questions can help you keep your contest promotions, rules, and prizes as relevant as possible.
Choose worthy prizes. The best prizes are related to your business and of high enough value that people will consider it worth the effort to enter. Consider partnering with an influencer or like-minded brand.
Respect giveaway laws. Keep things legal by clearly stating that your contest does not require entrants to purchase anything or pay for entries, which would constitute an illegal lottery. Clearly explain the methods of entry, the dates winners will be announced, and how winners will claim their prizes. In the United States, don’t forget to check state-by-state exceptions to make sure your contest is within the law as well.
